A teenage passenger died in a crash following a police car chase early yesterday morning.
The incident happened just after 1am in Melbourn Street, Royston, closing the road and the junction with the A10.
Three teenage boys have been arrested and an investigation has been launched by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
Tributes to the victim, named locally as James Clennell, were posted on Twitter telling him to “sleep tight”. A Facebook tribute page set up yesterday attracted hundreds of people to sign up and leave messages within hours.
James, understood to be 16 and a student at Freman College in Buntingford, is believed to have been a passenger in the car.
Chloe Camper, James’ ex-girlfriend, said: “He is going to be really missed.
“He always had a smile on his face and nothing seemed to bother him.”
The 17-year-old, of Vicarage Road, Buntingford, said his three sisters were “devastated”.
The Cambridge Regional College pupil, who is studying sport, added: “He was such a good brother. He was the one who protected them.”
Katie Edwards, 20, said all his friends were “in shock.”
The Buntingford resident, who was a few years above James at Freman College, said: “He was a very good friend.
“Nothing can be said. It was a waste of life, so sad. He was friends with everyone. We are all in shock.”
The crash left a traffic light uprooted, a stone wall knocked over and a parked delivery van written off.
A spokesman said Hertfordshire police contacted the IPCC after the fatal collision.
He said: “The incident, in which one person died and another man was injured, happened after the car came to the attention of a marked police car on patrol.
“At this early stage it is understood that at around 1am officers signalled for the car to pull over, which it did not do, and that a short time later the car overturned on Melbourn Street.
“The IPCC deployed investigators to begin collecting evidence and following an assessment it has been decided that an independent investigation will be conducted.”
Celal Yukselen, the manager of USA Chicken and Pizza, told the News his red Nissan Almera, which was parked outside the business, was missing when he arrived at 10am yesterday morning.
A spokesman for the IPCC confirmed the parked vehicle had been hit during the accident and removed by police.
Mr Yukselen, 46, from London, is now waiting to hear back from police about his vehicle as well as the stone wall belonging to the shop which was destroyed.
Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said two vehicles were involved in the crash. Two fire crews from Royston attended the scene, carrying 10 firefighters.
A spokesman from the East of England Ambulance Service Trust said ambulance crews from Letchworth, Royston and Stevenage attended the scene.
He said two people who were injured were taken to Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge and the Lister Hospital in Stevenage.
Last night a Hertfordshire police spokeswoman said three people had been arrested.
She added: “These are a 17-year-old boy Buntingford arrested on suspicion of death by dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene of a collision, drink-driving and possession of an offensive weapon, a 17-year-old boy from Hertford arrested on suspicion of death by dangerous driving, and an 18-year-old boy from Buntingford arrested on suspicion of death by dangerous driving.
“All three remain in police custody at this time.”
The IPCC spokesman said the teenager who died had not been driving.
source: cambridge-news.co.uk
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